Shutter means operated by fan motor

ABSTRACT

A ventilator having a shutter closed when the ventilator is in inoperative position and a mechanism operable by a part of the output of a fan motor to actuate the shutter for the opening and closing operations thereof.

United States Patent i i 1 1 5,589,267

[72} Inventors Hiroo Hosono I [50] Field of Search 98/116,41; Asahi-ku,Osaka; 415/148 Shoji Omiya, Kitakawachi-gun, Osaka, h f Japan {56]References Cited [21] Appli No 850,004 UNITED STATES PATENTS I221 FlledI 2,225,349 12/1940 MOl'se 1. 98/116 3; TF a L 2 l d C d 2323,178 6/1943Denman 98/116 1 ss1gnce ositlsigsJiapanectnc n ustl'la 0.,Lt FOREIGNPATENTS [32] Priority 1511,1968 559,424 6/1958 Canada 98 116 [33] Japan594 165 11 1947 Great Britain 230 270 [31] 43/602 Primary Examiner-MeyerPerlin Assistant Examiner-Ronald C. Capossela Attorney-Stevens, Davis,Miller and Mosher [54] SHUTTER MEANS OPERATED BY FAN MOTOR 2 Claims, 10Drawing Figs.

ABSTRACT: A ventilator having a shutter closed when the [52] U.S. Cl98/116, ventilator is in inoperative position and a mechanism operable 7415/148 by a part of the output ofa fan motor to actuate the shutter for[51] Int. Cl F04d 25/14 the opening and closing operations thereof.

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SHUTTER MEANS OPERATED BY FAN MOTOR There has been a ventilator having apull cord for actuating a shutter actuation mechanism for the openingand closing of the shutter of the ventilator, the shutter actuationmechanism being arranged in operative association with an electricalswitch for the fan motor so as to open or close the shutter insynchronism with start or stop of the rotation of the fan motor.

However, prior art pull cord-operated type ventilator has a difficultythat the shutter load is to be bored by the pull cord, so that largerforce is essentially required to manually operate the cord. In addition,the pull cord has been designed to have larger actuation stroke, whichrender the manual operation of the cord troublesome. Moreover, the factthat larger force is required to operate the pull cord makes itdifficult to actuate the cord in a direction other than a predeterminedone unless appropriate guide means such as rollers are provided for thepull cord. Still further, said fact makes it inevitable to employ a pullcord ofa larger diameter which essentially spoils the appearance ofthecord.

The prior art ventilator, furthermore, requires that the fan motor andthe electrical switch therefore be mounted separately with resultantcomplicated electrical circuit arrangement, so that maintenance andcleaning of the ventilator are inevitably rendered troublesome. Inaddition, since the force to actuate the pull cord is limited by theinherent design of the prior art ventilator, the force to actuate theshutter is especially limited with a resultant difficulty that, in theapplication where a large quantity of dust and vaporized oil particlesare apt to be deposited on the parts of the ventilator, the depositedoil and dust particles adhesively connect the parts of the ventilator sothat the limited actuation force is insufficient to separate theadhesively connected parts thereby to open or close the shutter.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a novelventilator which utilizes the output of the fan motor to actuate theshutter for the opening and closing operations thereof.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a ventilator inwhich the force required to pull a shutter actuation pull cord is assmall as a force required to pull a pull cord for operating anelectrical switch such as one associated with a fluorescent lamp as onthe ceiling so that the shutter actuation pull cord may operated veryeasily and in any direction and that the pull cord may be of a smallerdiameter so as to be inconspicuous.

It is a still another object of the present invention to provide aventilator in which larger magnitude of force for the actuation of theshutter is generated so as to assure the opening and closing operationsof the shutter.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a ventilatorin which the electrical switch for the fan motor and the actuationmechanism'for the opening and closing operations of the shutter aregathered into a unit which in turn is united with the fan motor to forma unitary structure for a simplified ventilator arrangement so that thewiring and assembly involved in the manufacture of the ventilator areextremely simplified and the maintenance and cleaning of the ventilatorare remarkably easy.

According to the present invention, there is provided a ventilatorcomprising a switching mechanism operable by actuation of pulling cordto form a closed electrical circuit for the operation of a fan motor,clutch means operable in response to the electroconductive operation ofsaid switching mechanism to bring said fan motor into driving connectionwith a drive mechanism for the actuation of shutter means, a

clutch releasing mechanism operable to render said clutch meansinoperative when said shutter means are in fully opened position,locking means operable to hold said shutter means in fully openedposition in synchronism with the clutch releasing operation of saidclutch releasing mechanism and a mechanism operable by the breakingoperation of said switching mechanism to cancel said clutch releasingoperation and the locking operation of said locking means.

Other objects and features of the present invention will be apparentfrom the following description with reference to the accompanyingdrawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of the ventilator according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates in perspective view an actuation mechanism for theopening and closing operation of the shutter of the ventilator;

FIG. 3 shows in perspective view the parts of the actuation mechanism indisassembled state;

FIG. 4 shows in perspective view a final gear and a wire in theactuation mechanism;

FIGS. 5 through 9 inclusive diagrammatically illustrate in planviews thesuccessive operation of the shutter actuation mechanism; and

FIG. 10 is a diagrammatical illustration of the electrical circuitutilized in the ventilator according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the ventilator of the present invention has anouter frame 12 which houses at one end a conventional shutter which isillustrated as being composed of three shutter members 5 pivotallymounted by pins 2 on an appropriate support not shown. The shuttermembers 1 are connected together by a connecting plate or rod 3 fortheir simultaneous operations. A shutter return spring 4 is providedbetween the connecting rod 3 and the outer frame 12. The connecting rod3 has a lateral projection 15 to which is connected a charge spring 5 atits one end. A wire 6 is connected to the other end of the charge spring5. Thus, the wire 6 is connected to the shutter member connecting rod 3through the charge spring 5. In order to assure that the shutter members1 be fully opened, the wire 6 is designed to have its pulling stroke ordisplacement somewhat larger than the shutter-opening stroke of theconnecting rod 3, the displacement of the wire 6 in excess of the strokeof the rod 3 being taken up by the charge wire 5. The wire 6 extendsthrough and is covered by a guide member 7.

Approximately centrally of the ventilator frame 12 is supported a fanmotor 8 from the frame 12 by means of support members, not shown. A fan9 is fixed onto an output shaft 10 of the fan motor 8. On the end of thefan motor 8 opposite to the fan 9, mounted is a housing 11 containingthe actuation mechanism for the opening and closing operations of theshutter members 1. A cord 13 extends from the exterior of the ventilatorframe 12 through a guide 14 into the interior of the housing 11 and isconnected to the shutter actuation mechanism therein.

In the illustrated embodiment, the guide 14 is shown as being in theform of a tubing. It is, however, to be understood that the guide may bein the form of a guide pulley or guide ring. A neat construction and animproved design may be attained by disposing the guides 7 and 14in thechannel or along the web ofa fan motor supporting angle member. Inaddition, a detachable design may be employed at each of the connectionsbetween the outer extremity 16 of the guide 14 and the ventilator frame12 and between the lateral projection 15 on the shutter memberconnecting rod 3 and the charge spring 5 so that the guides 7 and 14 maybe readily removed together with the fan motor 8 from the frame 12 foreasy cleaning of the dismounted elements. Thus, a simplifiedconstruction may be achieved with respect to the connection between eachadjacent couple of the pull cord 13, the fan motor 8, the wire 6 and theset of shutter members 1, which contributes to the reduction in cost andto the mass production.

Referring to FIG. 2 which illustrates mechanism for opening and closingthe shutter members 1. This mechanism is mounted on a baseplate 17secured by means of screws 18, 18' to the end of the fan motor 8 remotefrom the fan 9. A pinion 19 is fixed to the output shaft 10 of the fanmotor 8. A clutch gear 20 is disposed in meshing engagement with thepinion 19. The gear 20 has fixed thereto a coaxial small diameter gearwhich is always in meshing engagement with a final gear 22 having a drum21 (FIGS. 3 and 4) for taking-up the wire 6, these gears forming areduction gear. As will be best seen in FIG. 3, the gear 22 is mountedon a shaft 23 on which is pivotally supported a generally U-shapcd lever24 which in turn carries a shaft 23' on which the gear 20 is rotatablymounted.

A stop 25 is secured to the baseplate 17 for limiting the pivotal motionof the lever 24. A first locking plate 26 is mounted by a pin to thebaseplate 17. The locking plate 26 operates to prevent at its engagingportion 27 the rotation of the lever 24 thereby for causing the clutchgear 20 and the pinion 19 to be maintained in their meshing position, asshown in FIG. 6. The final gear 22 has thereon an axial projection 28which, when the drum 21 on the final gear 22 has taken-up a length ofthe wire corresponding to a predetermined stroke thereof, is broughtinto engagement with a finger 26' of the first locking plate 26 todisengage the engaging portion 27 thereof from the lever 24 thereby forreleasing the latter from the locking plate 26. The clutch gear 20 isdisengaged from the pinion 19 when the lever 24 is in a position inwhich it is in contact with the stop 25.

A switch 29 for the electrical power of the fan motor 8 is disposedwithin the housing 11. The switch includes a pair of contact plates 30and 31 having thereon contact points 32 and 33, respectively. The switch29 is mounted on the baseplate 17 by means of a screw 34. The contactplate 30 is formed thereon with a lateral projection 35.

The baseplate 17 is formed thereon with a U-shapcd supporting plate 36which carries a fulcrum axle 37. The baseplate 17 has fixed thereto asecond fulcrum axle 38 which cooperates with the first fulcrum axle 37to pivotally or rotatably support a generally W-shaped turning-overplate 39. The latter has a switch-engaging portion 40 which is incontact with the lateral projection 35 on the contact plate 30 so thatthe spring force of the same prevents rotation of the turningover plate39. The latter is also formed with a central mountain-shaped taming-overguide portion 41, valley-shaped notches 42 and 43 at the opposite sidesof the guide portion 41 and a central space or recess 44 through whichextends the cord 13 which is passed through a pulling cord guidingaperture 45 in the supporting plate 36. The forward end of the cord 13is connected to one end of a pulling cord return spring 47 which in turnis connected at the other end to the baseplate 17 by means ofa pin 46.Thus, the pulling cord 13 is tensioncd by the pulling cord return spring47 between the pin 46 and the cord guiding aperture 45 and extendslinearly. A turningover plate engaging piece 48 of a diameter largerthan the gap or width of the space 44 in the turning-over plate 39 ismounted on the pulling cord 13 at a level somewhat higher than the topof the turning-over guide portion 41 as viewed when the pulling cordreturn spring 47 is in its contracted position.

As will be appreciated from the above description, the electrical switch29, the turning-over plate 39 and the pulling cord 13 cooperate to forma pull cord-actuated switching mechanism. This switching mechanism is ofthe arrangement that when the pulling cord 13 is pulled down, theturning-over plate engaging piece 48 alternately engages in the notches42 and 43 of the turning-over plate 39 thereby to alternatelyturning-over the latter. Upon the turning-over motion of theturning-over plate 39, the switch engaging portion 40 of the plate 39 iscaused to move past the lateral projection 35 of the contact plate 30 sothat the contact point 32 is brought into contact with the other contactpoint 33. The series of operations are illustrated in FIGS. through 9inclusive.

A second locking plate 49 is mounted on the same shaft as that of theturning-over plate 39 for the simultaneous turningover movementtherewith. The second locking plate 49 is connected by a spring 50 tothe turning-over plate 39 so that a bearing piece 51 of the lockingplate 49 is maintained in engagement with the turning-over plate 39. Itis, therefore, ap parent that the second locking plate 49 is rotatablerelative to the turning-over plate 39 only in counterclockwise directionwithin a range determined by the spring 50. The second locking plate 49is adapted to be engaged by a unidirectionally engaging cam or pawl 52provided on the clutch gear 20. With the turning-over plate 39 rotatedor burned over in clockwise direction, the second locking plate 49 isnot engaged by the pawl 52 when the clutch gear 20 is driven by thepinion 19 in a direction indicated by an arrow M as shown in FIGS. 6 and7, but the locking plate 49 is in engagement with the pawl 52 to form aunidirectional locking mechanism as shown in FIG. 8 when the clutch gear20 is disengaged from the pinion 19 so that the gear 20 and the pawl 52are rotated in the reversed direction indicated by an arrow N by theload imparted by taking-up of the wire 6. On the other hand, when thesecond locking plate 49 is turned-over in counterclockwise direction,the second locking plate 49 is moved away off the pawl 52 to release theclutch gear 20 as shown in FIG. 9. The load of taking-up the wire 6always exerts a clockwise force to the lever 24 so that the latter isactuated to disengage the clutch gear 20 from the pinion 19.

The turning-over plate 39 is also provided with a projection 53 which,when the plate 39 is turned-over in counterclockwise direction, isbrought into engagement with the first locking plate 26 to disengage thesame from the lever 24. The operation of the projection 53 is requiredfor the purpose to be described hereunder. Assuming that the projection53 is absent and that the ventilator is operated by the pull cord 13from the positionin which the ventilating operation is started as shownin FIG. 6 up to the position in which the wire 6 is nearly completelytaken-up (or in other words, just before the opening of the shutter iscompleted), the rotation of the fan motor is stopped while the pinion 19and the clutch gear 20 are maintained in meshing engagement with oneanother since the lever 24 is locked by the first locking plate 26.Thus, the

load of the winding of the wire 6 alone is insufficient to rotate thepinion 19 in the reversed direction, so that the wire 6 is taken-up halfway and the shutter is partly opened. Many cases are experienced inwhich the operation of a ventilator is commenced and immediately stoppedas described in the above. In such a case, if the above-mentionedprojection 53 is present, the same will serve to disengage the firstlocking plate 26 from the lever 24 so that the clutch gear 20 isdisengaged from the pinion 19 to permit the gear 20 to rotate in thereversed direction as well as to permit the wire 6 to be returned orwithdrawn in the direction opposite to the direction indicated by anarrow P for closing the shutter memhers I.

A spring 54 interconnects the first locking plate 26 and the lever 24 attheir one ends and is tensioned therebetween to bias the locking plate26 in counterclockwise direction. A spring 55 is also provided betweenthe other end of the lever 24 and a right finger of the turning-overplate 39 to actuate the lever 24 and the locking plate 26 incounterclockwise direction. The spring 54 and 55 in terms of theirforces are such that, when the turning-over plate 39 is in itscounterclockwise rotated position and the ventilator is out of operation, the spring 54 rotates the lever 24 in the clockwise directionagainst the biassing force of the spring 55 to bring the lever 24 intoengagement with the lever stop 25 on the baseplate 17 (this position isillustrated in FIG. 5). When the turning-over plate 39 has been rotatedin clockwise direction, the flexibility of the spring 55 rotates thelever 24 in counterclockwise direction against the force of the spring54 until the clutch gear 20 is brought into engagement with the pinion19 and the lever 24 is brought into engagement with the engaging portion27 of the first locking plate 26. The characteristics of the springs 54and 55 are predetermined to afford the above operation. In addition, itis required that the spring 55 be of such a resiliency that thecounterclockwise torque exerted to the lever 24 by the spring 55 is lessthan the clockwise torque imparted to the lever by the load of taking-upof the wire 6. This is required in order to move the lever 24 from theposition shown in H0. 7 to the position shown in FIG. 8.

A description will next be made with respect to the condition orrequirement involved in the operation in which the clutch gear 20 isbrought into meshing engagement with the pinion I9. It is necessary thatthe clutch gear 20 and the pinion 19 be instantaneously engaged with oneanother. 'l'his is because, while the clutch gear 20 is not required tobe instantaneously shifted in the case where the operation is com mencedwith the standstill position of the ventilator (that is, the position inwhich the fan motor output shaft III and thus the pinion I9 arestationary) since the fan motor output shaft 10 and the pinion 19 arealmost stationary or rotating at a lower speed in this case, the clutchgear 26 must be engaged with the pinion I9 while the latter is rotatedat a higher speed by the inertia on the rotor of the fan motor in theinstance wherein the pulling cord is actuated to intermit the operationand thereafter is again actuated immediately to resume the operation. Ifthe clutch gear 20 is slowly shifted toward the pinion 119, the gear 20may hardly be brought into meshing engagement with the pinion I9resulting in a shortened operative life of the gears. In the presentinvention, in order to assure that the clutch gear 20 is instantaneouslybrought into meshing engagement with the pinion 19, the switch engagingportion 40 of the turning-over plate 39 is so shaped as to be quicklymoved past the lateral projection 35 on the contact plate when theturningover plate 39 is switched in either direction, so that theswitching movement of the plate 39 is taken-up to a limited extent bythe spring 55 which in turn quickly rotates the lever 2%.

FIG. 10 is a diagrammatical representation of the electrical circuitemployed in the ventilator of the present'invention. The circuitincludes an electrical power source 56, a capacitor 57, a primary coil58 of the fan motor, an auxiliary coil 59 of the fan motor-and theelectrical switch 29 above described.

In general, a ventilator may be selectively controlled in one of thefollowing three ways to any of which the ventilator of the presentinvention is applicable:

(I) In normal operation:

If the pulling cord is actuated when the ventilator is in its stationaryposition shown in FIG. 5, the turning-over plate 39 is instantaneouslyturned over in clockwise direction so that the contacts 32 and 33 oftheelectrical switch 29 are closed as shown in FIG. 6 to commence rotationof the fan motor h and thus the pinion I9 and, at the same time, bringthe clutch gear 20 quickly into meshing engagement with the pinion I9,with the result that the drum 211 on the final gear 22 begins to take upthe wire 6. At this moment, the lever 24 is given a force in clockwisedirection (that is, in the direction in which the clutch gear 20 isdisengaged from the pinion 19). However, since the engaging portion 27of the first locking plate 26 prevents rotation of the lever 24, thedrum 2i continues taking-up of the wire 6. The pawl 52 of the clutchgear 20 is rotated in clockwise direction and, in a part of thisrotation, is brought into sliding contact with the second locking plate$9 to oscillate the latter in counterclockwise direction. If thetraction force having been imparted to the pulling cord I3 is removed,the turning-over plate engaging piece Mi is returned from the positionshown in FIG. 6 to the position shown in FIG. 7 and, if the pulling cordI3 is pulled again, the engaging piece 48 is received in the notch 43 inthe turning-over plate 39. When the wire 6 has been taken up a lengthsubstantially equal to a predetermined stroke necessary to fully openthe shutter of the ventilator, the projection 28 on the final gear 22 isbrought into pressure contact with the finger 26' of the first lockingplate 26 as shown in FIG. 7 until the engaging portion 27 of the lockingplate 26 is disengaged from the lever 24, so that the latter is rotatedin clockwise direction by the load of taking-up of the wire 6 to permitthe clutch gear 20 to be dis engaged from the pinion 19. Thus, theclutch gear 20 has a tendency toward being rotated in the reverseddirection by the load of taking-up of the wire 6, but the pawl 52 on theclutch gear 20 is locked by the second locking plate 49 so that thereverse rotation of the clutch gear 20 is prevented and the wire 6 isheld in completely wound position, with the result that the shuttermembers i are maintained in their fully opened positions and theoperation of the ventilator is continued, as shown in FIG. 8. When it isdesired to discontinue the operation of the ventilator, the pulling cordI3 is further pulled down to rotate the turning-over plate 39 incounterclockwise direction so that the second locking plate 49 isdisengaged from the pawl 52 to allow the clutch gear 20 and the finalgear 22 to be rotated in reversed direction, with the result that thewire 6 is unwound to permit the shutter members I to be closed and, atthe same time, the contacts 32 and 33 of the electrical switch areopened to dcenergize the fan motor 8.

(II) In the case wherein the pulling cord 13 is actuated to start theoperation and immediately thereafter is again actuated to discontinuethe operation:

At a halfway in the course of operation from the position in FIG. 5through the FIG. 6 position to the position in FIG. 7, it the pullingcord I3 is actuated to discontinue the operation before the projection23 on the final gear 22 releases the first locking plate 26 from theengagement with the lever 24, the projection 53 on the turning-overplate 39 is brought into ongagcment with the left finger of the firstlocking plate 26 to cause the latter to be disengaged from the lever 24so that the operation of the actuation mechanism is advanced through theposition shown in FIG. 9 to the initial position shown in FIG. 5 inwhich the operation is discontinued.

(III) In the case in which the pulling cord I3 is repeatedly actuatedfor the repeated interrupted operation in a short time:

In this case, the clutch gear 20 is also quickly brought into meshingengagement with the pinion 19 as described in the above and operatesstably.

The ventilator of the present invention has been described in the abovein conjunction with an embodiment which is of a type that is adapted tocontrol start and stop of unidirectional rotation. It is, however, to benoted that the invention is readily applicable to a ventilator of twostep switch-over type, such as an air intake and discharge type or astrong-weak adjustable type, by an appropriate modification in design ofthe pulling cord-actuatedelectrical switch.

As will be appreciated from the above-described embodiment of thepresent invention, the ventilator of the invention is controlled bymanual actuation of a pulling cord to start and stop the rotation of thefan motor but utilizes the output of the fan motor to actuate theshutter members for their opening and closing operations. Thus, only asmall force is required to actuate the pulling cord so that the pullingcord may be actu ated easily and in any direction. Moreover, even if thepulling cord is actuated at any time during any of operating andstationary positions of the ventilator, it is assured that a starting orstopping operation be carried out without any wrong operation.

What we claim is:

t. A ventilator comprising a motor driven fan, a switching mechanismoperable by actuation of pulling cord to form a closed electricalcircuit for the operation of said fan motor, clutch means operable inresponse to the electroconductive operation of said switching mechanismto bring said fan motor into driving connection with a drive mechanismfor the actuation of shutter means, a clutch releasing mechanismoperable to render said clutch means inoperative when said shutter meansare in fully opened position, locking means operable to hold saidshutter means in fully opened position in synchronism with the clutchreleasing operation of said clutch releasing mechanism and a mechanismoperable by the breaking operation of said switching mechanism to cancelsaid clutch releasing operation and the locking operation of saidlocking means.

2. A ventilator comprising a motor driven fan having a pinion fixed tothe rotational axle thereof, shutter means biassed by a spring toward aclosed position and connected with a length of wire for theopening-closing operation of said shutter means, an electrical switchfor said fan motor, said switch being adapted to be actuated by apulling cord, a reduction gear mechanism including a clutch gear adaptedto be brought into meshing engagement with said pinion when saidelectrical switch is closed, a drum member mounted on said be disengagedfrom said pinion, a second locking plate for preventing said reductiongear mechanism from being rotated in the reversed direction by said loadof taking-up of said wire, said first and second locking plates beingineffective to lock when said electrical switch is opened.

1. A ventilator comprising a motor driven fan, a switching mechanismoperable by actuation of pulling cord to form a closed electricalcircuit for the operation of said fan motor, clutch means operable inresponse to the electroconductive operation of said switching mechanismto bring said fan motor into driving connection with a drive mechanismfor the actuation of shutter means, a clutch releasing mechanismoperable to render said clutch means inoperative when said shutter meansare in fully opened position, locking means operable to hold saidshutter means in fully opened position in synchronism with the clutchreleasing operation of said clutch releasing mechanism and a mechanismoperable by the breaking operation of said switching mechanism to cancelsaid clutch releasing operation and the locking operation of saidlocking means.
 2. A ventilator comprising a motor driven fan having apinion fixed to the rotational axle thereof, shutter means biassed by aspring toward a closed position and connected with a length of wire forthe opening-closing operation of said shutter means, an electricalswitch for said fan motor, said switch being adapted to be actuated by apulling cord, a reduction gear mechanism including a clutch gear adaptedto be brought into meshing engagement with said pinion when saidelectrical switch is closed, a drum member mounted on said reductiongear mechanism for taking-up said wire, the load of taking-up of saidwire being effective to disengage said clutch gear from said pinion, afirst locking plate for preventing the disengagement of said clutch gearfrom said pinion for a moment and, after said wire is taken up a lengthcorresponding to a predetermined stroke thereof, permitting said clutchgear to be disengaged from said pinion, a second locking plate forpreventing said reduction gear mechanism from being rotated in thereversed direction by said load of taking-up of said wire, said firstand second locking plates being ineffective to lock when said electricalswitch is opened.